Speed-indicator for shafting



(No Model.) v.

S. E. NUTTING. SPEED INDICATOR FOR SHAPTING.

No. 465,047. Patented D60. 15, 1891.

26 22 72 assay,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL E. NUTTING, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONEIIALF TO ROLAND A. \VELSH, OF IRON RIDGE, VVISOONSIN.

SPEED-INDICATOR FOR SHAFTING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 465,047, dated December 15, 1891.

Application filed November 13 1890. Serial No. 371,282.

.To alZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL E. NUTTING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ohicago, Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements-in Speed-Indicators, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to make a speed-indicator in which an indicating-needle is moved by the action of centrifugal force into a position always determined by the amount of centrifugal force developed, and which therefore corresponds to the speed of rotation of the shaft or other object to which it is attached; and it consists in the features and details of construction hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my speed-indicator when it is at rest. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of my speed-indicator when in operation, with some of the parts in section; and Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the spring and one of the weights.

In making my speed-indicator I take a rod A, made of steel or other suitable material, and preferably provided with a handle B of the desired size andlength. These parts, and particularly the rod, form what may be termed the supporting-frame of the indicator. At the point of the rod I arrangearevoluble cap 0, adapted to be arranged on the end of the rod A, to be held in proper position thereon by a set-screw O and to be rotated freely on the end of the rod.

To facilitate the rotation of the cap 0, I prefer to have the end of the rod A brought to a point, so that when the cap is pressed against it in operation as little friction as possible may be produced. The cap extends along the rod sufficiently to afford a secure bearing on it and hold it in proper position while in operation.

Arranged on the rod near the handle is a collar D, which supports adial-plate E and an indicating-needle F. The indicating-needle is pivoted at the side of the dial-plate, so as to move around the pivotal point, and is provided with a toothed segment of a circle f at its rear or inner end.

(No model.)

Arranged on the rod A and in close proximity to the collar D is a revoluble rack G, adapted to be freely and easily rotated on the rod. I This rack is shown in Fig. 1 as cylindrical in form, and the teeth on it extend entirely around. The teeth on the toothed segment f of the indicating-needle and the teeth of the revoluble rack G are intended to engage with each other in such a way that the teeth of the rack may be freely revoluble between the teeth of the toothed segment. When the speed-indicator is in a state of rest, the indicating-needle is intended to point to zero and to have but a small number of its teeth resting between the teeth on the rack G.- As such rack, however, is moved along the rod A, the segment f is caused to turn and the point of the needle carried around. This brings otherteeth of the segment into engagement with the rack G. Thin flexible springs H or other flexible connections are attached to the revoluble cap 0 at one end and to the revoluble rack G at the other. These springs are preferably made of such length that when the revoluble rack rests in its position nearest to the collar D the springs will form, approximately, a circle, as shown in Fig. 1. When the springs are in this position, they hold the rack G in its nearest position to the collar D and cause the indicating-needle to point to the lowest number, or zero, on the dial. Near the middle of the springs are arranged weights I. One of these weights is shown attached to the spring in Fig. 3 by means of a slot in the weight fitting over the spring. Any other means, however, of fastening the weights on the spring may be ema ployed, if desired. When the point of the cap 0 is applied to the end of a revoluble shaft to take its speed of rotation, the cap is caused to revolve and with it the springs H and the revoluble rack G. These parts as-' sume the same speed of rotation as the shaft or other object to which they are applied. As they rotate, the weights 1, throughthe action of centrifugal force, cause the center of the springs to tend outward, as shown in Fig. 2. This outward tendency is of course always proportionate to the amount of centrifugal force developed, which corresponds with or depends upon the rate at which the cap 0 is rotating. As the springs assume an elliptical form, caused by the outward movement of their central portions, where the weights are attached, the rack G, revolving with them, is moved along the rod A away from the collar D. The extent of its movement along the rod depends upon the degree that the springs are bent by the action of centrifugal force. As it moves along the rod it turns the toothed segment f so that the point of the indicatingneedle is moved around the dial. I have represented the dial with a number of marks around its edge, which, it will be understood, are to represent a scale, so that the rotation of the shaft to which the indicator is applied will be shown by the number to which the needle points. The greater rotation of the shafhand the greater amount of centrifugal force developed the greater the movement of the rack G along the rod A and the consequent movement of the needle over the scale of the dial. By keeping the indicator in connection with the shaft a sufficient length of time variations in the speed of rotation of the shaft can be noted, as the needle will move back and forth along the scale according to the rate of rotation.

What I regard as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a speed-indicator, the combination of a non-revoluble supporting-rod, an indicatingneedle, a revoluble cap, flexible curved revoluble springs provided with weights and having one end movable toward and from the other as the centrifugal force increases or decreases, and means for connecting the mov. 

